Meat-shaping apparatus



Jan. 20, 1953 C, A, HAMMERBERG 2,625,876

MEAT -SHAP ING APPARATUS Filed May 12, 1947 Patented Jan. 20, 1953MEAT-SHAPING APPARATUS Chester A. Hammerberg, Des Plaines, Ill.,assignor to Armour and Company, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of IllinoisApplication MaytlZ, 1947, Serial No. 747,359

This invention relates to meat-shaping apparatus and method. I'heinvention is particularly useful in the shaping of irregular cuts ofmeat, such as beef tenderloin, so as to produce a product of relativelyuniform contour and dimensions.

In attempts to shape meat, such as beef tenderloin, which has unusualcontours, great difficulty is presented because of the tendency ofportions of the meat to fold or bend. Such excessive folding orbendingin a mold causes the meat to separate when'it is ultimately cut orcooked.

An object of the present invention is to provide apparatus for shapingmeat while eliminating excessive folding or bending. Yet another objectis to provide a means for shaping irregular cuts of meat under pressurewithin the confines of a mold while preventing excessive bending orfolding of the cuts and then freezing the product while confined underpressure in the desired shape. vOther specific objects and advantageswill appear as the specication proceeds.

, The invention is illustrated, in one embodiment, by the accompanyingdrawing, in which- Figure 1 is a central vertical sectional View ofapparatus embodying my invention; Fig. 2, a top plan View; Fig. 3, avertical sectional view of the top portion of'the" apparatus with theclamp meansv affixed thereto; andlFig. 4, a perspective view of theclamp means employed.

In the illustration given, I designates a mold which may be of anydesired shape or cross section and formed of any suitable material. Inthe illustration given, a mold I0 is in the form of a pipe mold havingits bottom portion turned inwardly to form an annular bottom flange I Iand its top portion turned outwardly to form a locking flange I2.Resting upon the bottom flange I I is a removable bottom plate I3apertured centrally at I4.

Various important meat portions have irregular contours and present agreat problem in a meat shaping operation. For example, a beeftenderloin, as illustrated by the numeral I5 in Fig. 1, has a largebulky portion at one end while the other end tapers toward a point. Ifthe tenderloin is folded or overlapped upon itself in the shapingoperation. a highly unsatisfactory product is obtained because in thecooking operation, the meat tends to separate and unfold. I have foundthat an effective solution of the problem can be brought about bythreading the tenderloin upon a pin I6 xed centrally to a base plate I1,the pin being extended through the mold I0. As shown more clearly in thecentral portion of Fig. 1, the uncompressed tenderloin I5 is threaded 3claim..v (c1. 10o- 57) upon the pin I6 so that the pin passes firstthrough the enlarged portion of the tenderloin, and then upwardlythrough the tapered portion.

A tamping or pressure-exerting member I9 is provided with a hollowhandle 20 provided with a hand piece 2l at the top thereof. The weightedtamping member is apertured to receive the pin I6, and the pin alsoextends upwardly into the members 20 and 2|.

After one of the tenderloin portions I5 has been compacted, within themolding, a partition plate or block I8, apertured vto receive the pinI6, is placed in position, as illustrated in Fig. l. The compressedtenderloin is indicated by the numeral I5A. A second tenderloin portionI5 may then be threaded upon the pin, as indicated in the intermediateportion of Fig. 1, and after this has been compacted, a second block orpartition plate I8 is placed inV position, and so on until the pipe moldI0 is filled. The mold may be of such a length as to receive three beeftenderloins vor any larger or lesser number.

After the mold has been lled, I prefer to employ a clamp pressure device22, as illustrated more clearly in Figs. 2 and 3. Such a device is of'well-known construction and need not be described in detail herein. Itprovides a plate 23 engaging the top of the meat, and it is equippedwith spring-urged members 24 pivotally mounted on the standards 25, eachmember 24y having depending latch arms 26 engageable with the flange I2of the mold I0. As shown more clearly in Figs. 2, 3 and 4, the pvotallymounted members 24 are equipped with depending latch arms 26 whichengage the flange I2 of the mold I0 to lock the plate 23 against thecontents of the mold. It will be observed that the latch arms 26 mayratchet over the flange I2 as pressure is exerted upon the clamp deviceso that the pressure plate 23 will be held in its lowermost position bythe engagement of large arms 26 with the flange I2. The frame of thestructure permits the pin I6 to extend therethrough.'

Operation The operation of the apparatus and method is conveniently setout in connection with the shaping of beef tenderloin, but it will beunderstood that both the apparatus and method are readily applicable toother forms of meat. In operating the apparatus, I first insert the pinI6 in position, as shown in Fig. 1, with the plate I'I resting below thebase flange II of mold I0. The plate I3 is then dropped into positionagainst the bottom of the mold and the first tenderloin I5 is led uponthe pin With the pin extending longitudinally through the tenderloin sothat the thin or tapered portion of the tenderloin is centrally filedupon the pin. In other words, the tenderloin is extended and filedlongitudinally upon the pin. The tamping member I9 is then brought intoplace upon the, top of the tenderloin I 5 so, that it is compressedlongitudinally uponA itselfl. There is, thus, substantially no foldingof the tenderloin upon itself and, instead, the tenderloinis compactedlongitudinally of itself. After the compacted operation, justdescribed',. ai; division block or plate I8 is dropped upon thecompacted tenderloin portion I5A and a' newterrd'erloin I5 is filed uponthe pin I6, as illustrated" in Fig. 1. This operation is repeated threeor four times and until the mold I6 is filled?. The* tamping members I9,and 2| are removed. The pres-- sure device 22 is then applied in itsusualv manner with its notched arms ZEeIIgaging the outwardly extendingilange I2 of the moldi I0'. TheY pin' |26 andJ its plate Il' areremoved; The mold' I0 with the tenderloin portions 55A held between theblocks I8 and under the top compressing device 2'2 is then placed Withinthefreezing apparatus:

It isv found that meat of irregular contour treated asl abovey describedhas a desirableV flat shape, upon removal from the freezing apparatus,and does not have excessive bending or folding; Further, upon beingvultimately cut and cooked, themeat does not tend to separate. Instead;the molded product, having the contour ofi the mold, may be readilysliced into uniform cuts' which retain their molded shape.

While in the foregoing specication, I have described the structure andmethod in greatvr detail for the-purpose oi'v illustrating oneembodiment of the invention, it will be understood that such details maybe modied Widely' by;y those skilled in the art Without' departing fromAthe spirit of'` my invention.

I claim:

1-'. Meat-shaping apparatus comprising a'tubular moldprovided with anapertured bottom and in its top` withV alaterally-extending flange', aplatebelowfthe bottom of said mold; a pin carried by said-plateandextendingthrough the aperture of said: bottom' and throughsaidmoldf,aplate withinsaid mold andapertured to receive said 4 pin, and a clampmember having latch means engaging said ilange for exerting pressureupon the contents of said mold and being apertured to receive said pin.

2. Meat-shaping apparatus comprising a tubular mold provided with anapertured bottom and in itsupper portion with, a. laterally-extendingfiangea plate Within said mold provided with a central aperture, a platebelow said bottom, a pin carried by said last-mentioned plate andextending through the apertures of said bottom and'. said:first-mentioned plate and projecting l through and above said mold, anda clamp memben' equipped with depending latch arms engaging said flangeand exerting pressure upon the contents of said mold, said clampingmember being aperturedtoA receive the upper portion of said pin.,

3"; Meat-shaping apparatus comprising a tubular member having acentrally apertured bottom Wall andJ provided- With alaterally-extending top Harige', an apertured pla-te providingv a bottomfor the'tubular' mold, a; plate below'said bottom; a pin' carried bysaid last-mentioned plate andex'- tending through theaperture ofv saidbottomu and abovesaidl mold, and aspring-urged clamping memberengagingthe-lateralfangeof said--A mold and exerting# pressure upon the contentsofl said mold, saidy clamping member being centrallyaperturedtoreceivetheupper' portionv of said pina CHESTERA. HAMMERBERG;

REFERENCES.. CITED;

The followingl references are of` record* in the

